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{{Short description|Belarusian rabbi, rosh yeshiva, and posek (1870–1953)}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader {{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = Rabbi | honorific-prefix = Rabbi
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'''Isser Zalman Meltzer''' ({{lang-he|איסר זלמן מלצר}}) (February 6, 1870 – November 17, 1953),<ref name=Gen>Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel" (1870 - 1953){{cite web '''Isser Zalman Meltzer''' ({{langx|he|איסר זלמן מלצר}}) (February 6, 1870 – November 17, 1953),<ref name=Gen>Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel" (1870 - 1953){{cite web
|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Rabbi-Isser-Zalman-Meltzer-Even-HaEzel/6000000003668207282 |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Rabbi-Isser-Zalman-Meltzer-Even-HaEzel/6000000003668207282
|title=Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel"}}</ref> was a famous ] and ]n ] ], ] and ]. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel"—the title of his commentary on ]'s '']''. |title=Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel"}}</ref> was a Jewish rabbi, ] and ]. He was known as the "Even HaEzel", after the title of his commentary on ]'s '']''.


==Early life== ==Early life==
Rabbi Meltzer was born on 5 Adar 5630 (February 6, 1870) in the city of ],<ref name=YarM>{{cite web |website=matzav.com |date=November 27, 2009 Isser Zalman Meltzer was born on 5 Adar 5630 (February 6, 1870) in the city of ],<ref name=YarM>{{cite web |website=matzav.com |date=November 27, 2009
|title=Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer zt"l, On His Yahrtzeit, Today |title=Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer zt"l, On His Yahrtzeit, Today
|url=http://matzav.com/rav-isser-zalman-meltzer-ztl-on-his-yahrtzeit-today}}</ref> in the ] of the ] (present-day Republic of ]) to Rabbi Baruch Peretz |url=http://matzav.com/rav-isser-zalman-meltzer-ztl-on-his-yahrtzeit-today}}</ref> in the ] of the ] (present-day Republic of ]) to Rabbi Baruch Peretz
Line 54: Line 55:
|title=HaRav Isser Zalman Meltzer, in honor of his yahrtzeit}}</ref> From the age of 10,<ref name=AgudaWebSite>{{cite web |website=AgudathIsrael.org |title=HaRav Isser Zalman Meltzer, in honor of his yahrtzeit}}</ref> From the age of 10,<ref name=AgudaWebSite>{{cite web |website=AgudathIsrael.org
|url=http://agudathisrael.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Pirchei-Weekly-5774-Vayeitzei-color.pdf |url=http://agudathisrael.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Pirchei-Weekly-5774-Vayeitzei-color.pdf
|title=Pirchei - Agudath Israel - Vayeitzei |date=July 2015}}</ref> he studied with Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman, the rabbi of the city, and at the ]. In 1884, at the age of 14, he began studying at the ] under the ] and Rabbi ],<ref name=Virt>{{cite web |title=Pirchei - Agudath Israel - Vayeitzei |date=July 2015}}</ref> he studied with Yom-Tov Lipman, the rabbi of the city, and at the ]. In 1884, at the age of 14, he began studying at the ] under the ] and Rabbi ],<ref name=Virt>{{cite web
|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/meltzer-isser-zalman |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/meltzer-isser-zalman
|title=Meltzer, Isser Zalman |website=JewishVirtualLibrary.org}}</ref> where he remained for seven years.<ref name=YarM/><ref>{{cite book |title=Essential Figures in Jewish Scholarship |title=Meltzer, Isser Zalman |website=JewishVirtualLibrary.org}}</ref> where he remained for seven years.<ref name=YarM/><ref>{{cite book |title=Essential Figures in Jewish Scholarship
|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0765709953 |isbn=0765709953 |author=Ronald L. Eisenberg |date=2014}}</ref> |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0765709953 |isbn=978-0765709950 |author=Ronald L. Eisenberg |date=2014| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref>


While at the yeshiva, he became involved in the secret Ness Ziona Society, part of the ] movement. Together with his brother-in-law, Rabbi ], he contributed to the founding of the city of ] by buying land for an ] orchard. While at the yeshiva, he became involved in the secret Ness Ziona Society, part of the ] movement. Together with his brother-in-law, Rabbi ], he contributed to the founding of the city of ] by buying land for an ] orchard.


In 1892, at age 22, he married Beila Hinda, daughter of R. Faivel Frank of Ilukste. During his engagement period, he studied at the ] with the ]. During his studies, he contracted ] due to his roommate hanging animal skins in the room they were renting, and he was forced to return to his parents' home in Mir. His fiancee's family sent him money to pay for medical treatment while pressuring her to cancel the match. She refused, despite the pessimistic predictions of the doctors, and they married after he had recovered. In 1892, at age 22, he married Beila Hinda, daughter of Faivel Frank of Ilukste. During his engagement period, he studied at the ] with the ]. During his studies, he contracted ] due to his roommate hanging animal skins in the room they were renting, and he was forced to return to his parents' home in Mir. His fiancee's family sent him money to pay for medical treatment while pressuring her to cancel the match. She refused, despite the pessimistic predictions of the doctors, and they married after he had recovered.


In 1894, Rabbi Melzer was appointed by Rav ] as a ] at the ], together with his brother-in-law, Rabbi Epstein.<ref name=Virt/> In 1897, Rabbi Meltzer left Slabodka to lead the ] which had been established by the ] in ]. In 1894, Melzer was appointed by Rabbi ] as a ] at the ], together with his brother-in-law Epstein.<ref name=Virt/> In 1897, Meltzer left Slabodka to lead the ]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Iwanowska|first=Bożena|date=2012|title=Szkoły żydowskie na tle szkolnictwa powszechnego na Ziemi Kleckiej powiatu nieświeskiego województwa nowogródzkiego w latach 1921-1939|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=35826|journal=Kwartalnik Historii Żydów|language=Polish|volume=243|issue=3|pages=405–414|issn=1899-3044}}</ref> which had been established by the ] in ].


==Later life== ==Later life==
In 1903, Rabbi Meltzer was appointed as the ] of Slutsk, a position he held for 20 years.<ref name=YarM/> Although he had already been serving as the rosh yeshiva in that city, he had no document of ] because he had never planned on accepting a position in the rabbinate, but to teach Torah instead. In 1903, Meltzer was appointed as the rabbi of Slutsk, a position he held for 20 years.<ref name=YarM/> Although he had already been serving as the rosh yeshiva in that city, he had no document of '']'' because he had never planned on accepting a position in the rabbinate, but to teach Torah instead.


When the communal leaders resolved to appoint him as their rabbi, Rabbi Meltzer wrote to his teacher Rabbi ] and to Rabbi ], author of the '']'', asking them to send him the necessary affirmation. Rabbi Epstein immediately mailed him a letter of semicha, while Rabbi Soloveitchik made do with a brief telegram that simply bore the words, "Yoreh yoreh, yodin yodin".<ref name=Char/> When the communal leaders resolved to appoint him as their rabbi, Meltzer wrote to his teacher Soloveitchik and to Rabbi ], author of the '']'', asking them to send him the necessary affirmation. Epstein immediately mailed him a letter of ''semicha'', while Soloveitchik made do with a brief telegram that simply bore the words, "Yoreh yoreh, yodin yodin".<ref name=Char/>


Rabbi Meltzer was also a disciple of the ] and Rabbi ]. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi ] and maternal grandfather of Rabbi ]. He and Rav Aharon fled from Russia to Poland Meltzer was also a disciple of ] and Finkel. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi ] and maternal grandfather of Rabbi ]. He and Rav Aharon fled from Russia to Poland
<ref>(Lithuania) {{cite web <ref>(Lithuania) {{cite web
|url=https://www.rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com/Rabbi%20Yechiel%20Michel%20Feinstein.asp |url=https://www.rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com/Rabbi%20Yechiel%20Michel%20Feinstein.asp
|title=Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein}}</ref> at the outbreak of the outbreak of the Bolshevik revolution.<ref name=YarM/> |title=Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein}}</ref> at the outbreak of the outbreak of the ].<ref name=YarM/>


Rabbi Meltzer, who subsequently emigrated to ], was a friend and admirer of Rabbi ], the chief rabbi of Palestine and a self-avowed supporter of ].<ref name=Virt/> Rabbi Meltzer once said to the famous sage Rabbi ] of ], “We are considered Torah giants only up until the point that we reach the door of Rabbi Kook’s room.”<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fendel |first1=Hillel |title=75 Years Without Rabbi Kook: Selected Quotes |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139091 |website=Israel National News |publisher=Arutz Sheva |access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref> Meltzer, who subsequently emigrated to ], was a friend and admirer of ], the chief rabbi of Israel and a self-avowed supporter of ].<ref name=Virt/> Meltzer once said to the famous sage Rabbi ] of ], “We are considered Torah giants only up until the point that we reach the door of Rabbi Kook’s room.”<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fendel |first1=Hillel |title=75 Years Without Rabbi Kook: Selected Quotes |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139091 |website=Israel National News |date=13 August 2010 |publisher=Arutz Sheva |access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref>


In his later years, Rabbi Meltzer served as the rosh yeshiva of the ] in ].<ref name=YarM/> In his later years, Meltzer served as the rosh yeshiva of the ] in ].<ref name=YarM/>


He died on Tuesday, 17 November 1953 (10th ] 5714) at age 83, exactly 20 years after his brother-in-law Rabbi Moshe Mordechai, and was interred on ] in Jerusalem. He died on Tuesday, 17 November 1953 (10th ] 5714) at age 83, exactly 20 years after his brother-in-law Moshe Mordechai, and was interred on ] in Jerusalem.


Streets in ], Jerusalem and ] were named after him.
⚫ ==Students==
The legacy of Rabbi Meltzer was carried on by his numerous students:


⚫ ==Students ==
* His son, Rabbi ], Chief Rabbi of ], and the father-in-law of Rabbi ]
Rabbis who were his students include:
⚫ * His son, Rabbi Dr. Professor ] was a noted linguist of ] in Israel and contributor to the ] commentary on the Tanach

⚫ * His son-in-law, Rabbi ], Chief Rabbi of ]
* His son-in-law, Rabbi ], founder of ] in ] * His son, ], Chief Rabbi of ], and the father-in-law of Rabbi ]
⚫ * His son, Dr. ], a professor of ] in Israel and contributor to the ] commentary on the Tanach
⚫ * His granddaughter's husband, Rabbi ], '']'' of ].
⚫ * His son-in-law, ], Chief Rabbi of ]
⚫ * Rabbi ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ] and leading '']'' of his time.
* His son-in-law, ], founder of ] in ]
⚫ * Rabbi ]
⚫ * His granddaughter's husband, ], '']'' of ].
⚫ * Rabbi ], former ] ] of Israel.
⚫ * ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ] and leading '']'' of his time.
⚫ * Rabbi ], founder of
⚫ * ]
⚫ * Rabbi ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ].
⚫ * ], former ] ] of Israel.
* Rabbi ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ] in Israel, and leader of ]
⚫ * ], founder of
⚫ * Rabbi ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of Yeshiva ].
* Rabbi ], (the above's brother) ''rosh yeshiva'' in ] * ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ].
* Rabbi ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of the ] * ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ] in Israel, and leader of ]
⚫ * ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of ].
⚫ * Rabbi ], leading 20th century posek on medicine and halacha; dayan in Jerusalem.
* ], (the above's brother) ''rosh yeshiva'' in ]
* Rabbi Isaac L. Swift
* ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of the ]
⚫ * ], leading 20th century posek on medicine and halacha; dayan in Jerusalem.
⚫ * ], ''rosh yeshiva'' of Mercaz haRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
* Chai Yitzchok Twersky, Rebbe of Rachmistrivka Borough Park


==References== ==References==
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Latest revision as of 08:53, 12 January 2025

Belarusian rabbi, rosh yeshiva, and posek (1870–1953)
RabbiIsser Zalman Meltzer
איסר זלמן מלצר‎
Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Personal life
BornFebruary 6, 1870
Mir, Minsk Governorate
DiedNovember 17, 1953(1953-11-17) (aged 83)
Jerusalem
SpouseBeila Hinda
Religious life
ReligionJudaism
DenominationOrthodox

Isser Zalman Meltzer (Hebrew: איסר זלמן מלצר) (February 6, 1870 – November 17, 1953), was a Jewish rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He was known as the "Even HaEzel", after the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

Early life

Isser Zalman Meltzer was born on 5 Adar 5630 (February 6, 1870) in the city of Mir, in the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Republic of Belarus) to Rabbi Baruch Peretz and Miriam Reisel Meltzer. From the age of 10, he studied with Yom-Tov Lipman, the rabbi of the city, and at the Mir Yeshiva. In 1884, at the age of 14, he began studying at the Volozhin yeshiva under the Netziv and Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, where he remained for seven years.

While at the yeshiva, he became involved in the secret Ness Ziona Society, part of the Hovevei Zion movement. Together with his brother-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein, he contributed to the founding of the city of Hadera by buying land for an etrog orchard.

In 1892, at age 22, he married Beila Hinda, daughter of Faivel Frank of Ilukste. During his engagement period, he studied at the Raduń Yeshiva with the Chofetz Chaim. During his studies, he contracted tuberculosis due to his roommate hanging animal skins in the room they were renting, and he was forced to return to his parents' home in Mir. His fiancee's family sent him money to pay for medical treatment while pressuring her to cancel the match. She refused, despite the pessimistic predictions of the doctors, and they married after he had recovered.

In 1894, Melzer was appointed by Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel as a maggid shiur at the Slabodka yeshiva, together with his brother-in-law Epstein. In 1897, Meltzer left Slabodka to lead the Slutsk Yeshiva which had been established by the Ridvaz in Slutsk.

Later life

In 1903, Meltzer was appointed as the rabbi of Slutsk, a position he held for 20 years. Although he had already been serving as the rosh yeshiva in that city, he had no document of semicha because he had never planned on accepting a position in the rabbinate, but to teach Torah instead.

When the communal leaders resolved to appoint him as their rabbi, Meltzer wrote to his teacher Soloveitchik and to Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, author of the Arukh HaShulkhan, asking them to send him the necessary affirmation. Epstein immediately mailed him a letter of semicha, while Soloveitchik made do with a brief telegram that simply bore the words, "Yoreh yoreh, yodin yodin".

Meltzer was also a disciple of Yisrael Meir Kagan and Finkel. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi Aharon Kotler and maternal grandfather of Rabbi Shneur Kotler. He and Rav Aharon fled from Russia to Poland at the outbreak of the outbreak of the Bolshevik revolution.

Meltzer, who subsequently emigrated to Eretz Yisrael, was a friend and admirer of Abraham Isaac Kook, the chief rabbi of Israel and a self-avowed supporter of Zionism. Meltzer once said to the famous sage Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky of Vilna, “We are considered Torah giants only up until the point that we reach the door of Rabbi Kook’s room.”

In his later years, Meltzer served as the rosh yeshiva of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

He died on Tuesday, 17 November 1953 (10th Kislev 5714) at age 83, exactly 20 years after his brother-in-law Moshe Mordechai, and was interred on Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem.

Streets in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Rehovot were named after him.

Students

Rabbis who were his students include:

References

  1. Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel" (1870 - 1953)"Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel"".
  2. ^ "Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer zt"l, On His Yahrtzeit, Today". matzav.com. November 27, 2009.
  3. ^ "HaRav Isser Zalman Meltzer, in honor of his yahrtzeit".
  4. "Pirchei - Agudath Israel - Vayeitzei" (PDF). AgudathIsrael.org. July 2015.
  5. ^ "Meltzer, Isser Zalman". JewishVirtualLibrary.org.
  6. Ronald L. Eisenberg (2014). Essential Figures in Jewish Scholarship. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0765709950.
  7. Iwanowska, Bożena (2012). "Szkoły żydowskie na tle szkolnictwa powszechnego na Ziemi Kleckiej powiatu nieświeskiego województwa nowogródzkiego w latach 1921-1939". Kwartalnik Historii Żydów (in Polish). 243 (3): 405–414. ISSN 1899-3044.
  8. (Lithuania) "Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein".
  9. Fendel, Hillel (13 August 2010). "75 Years Without Rabbi Kook: Selected Quotes". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  • Eckman, Lester: History of Yeshivot and White Russia from their Beginnings Until 1945: publ Judaic Research institute, Elizabeth, New Jersey : p 253-259
Volozhin Yeshiva
Faculty
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Eliezer Fried
Refael Shapiro
Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi)
Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim of Volozhin
Yitzchak Volozhin
Location
Valozhyn, Belarus
Alumni
Shmuel Alexandrov
Meir Bar-Ilan
Zelig Reuven Bengis
Micha Josef Berdyczewski
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Hayim Nahman Bialik
David Cohen
Israel Davidson
Alter Asher Droyanov
Baruch Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Abraham Harkavy
Shmuel Yitzchak Hillman
Jacob Joseph
Nachum Kaplan
Chaim Mordechai Katz
Abraham Isaac Kook
Moyshe Kulbak
Moshe Landyski
Boruch Ber Leibowitz
Aryeh Levin
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Samuel Mohilever
Shlomo Polachek
Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz
Yitzchak Yaacov Reines
Mnachem Risikoff
Zundel Salant
Refael Shapiro
Shimon Shkop
Chaim Soloveitchik
Zalman Sorotzkin
Elchonon Wasserman
Kalman Zev Wissotzky
Pre–World War II European Yeshivos
Lithuania
Yeshivos
Notable roshei yeshiva
Notable mashgichim
Belarus
Yeshivos
Notable roshei yeshiva
Notable mashgichim
Poland
Yeshivos
Notable roshei yeshiva
Notable mashgichim
Slovakia
Yeshivos
Notable roshei yeshiva
Western
Europe
Yeshivos
Notable roshei yeshiva
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